AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Program of Assistance to Trade Support Institutions in Liberia (PATSIL)

PATSIL is a Program of Assistance to Trade Support Institutions in Liberia provided through technical support from the African Development Bank. PATSIL impacts three institutions; The Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Liberia Chamber of Commerce and the National Port Authority.

Institutional and human capacities were severely weakened by fourteen (14) years of conflict. This conflict impaired the ability of educational institutions to engage in meaningful human capital formulation. As a result, in post war Liberia there are many idled people who lack any educational experience and are over-aged for primary and secondary. Many sectors of society were unable to conceptualize, formulate, design, and implement public policies and national development plans. The trade sector has not been spared from these capacity challenges.

The proposed PATSIL will play an important role in strengthening the capacity to trade support institutions in Liberia, resulting in an improved policy environment and delivery of business support services to the private sector, especially SMEs. Project target beneficiaries are Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), National Ports Authority (NPA) and Liberia Chamber of Commerce (LCC). However, the Project will have far reaching direct impacts on the business community that will benefit from a more transparent trade policy framework; improved service delivery through better trained staff and automation of key services.